Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) The Kind

Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) The Kind

The Prophet Muhammad taught love, kindness and compassion to his people, and was
seen to be the most loving, kind, and compassionate of all of them. The Qur’an mentions
his kind and gentle behavior in these words: “O Messenger of Allah! It is a great Mercy of
Allah that you are gentle and kind towards them; for, had you been harsh and
hard¬hearted, they would all have broken away from you” (Qur’an 3:159). There are many
instances that show his kindness and gentleness, especially to the weak and the poor.
Anas, his famous servant, said: “I served Allah’s Messenger for ten years and he never
said to me, ‘Shame’ or ‘Why did you do such-and-such a thing?’ or ‘Why did you not do
such-and-such a thing?’” (Bukhari, 2038).
Once he said to his wife: “0 ‘A’ishah! Never turn away any needy man from your door
empty-handed. 0 ‘A’ishah! Love the poor; bring them near to you and Allah will bring you
near to Him on the Day of Resurrection”. He also went much further on to say: “Seek me
among your weak ones, for you are given provision, or you are given help only by reason
of the presence of your weak ones”. (Rahman, Encyclopaedia of Seerah, VOL. VIII, p.
151) Allah Almighty is Kind, and the Prophet imitated Allah’s example in its perfection by
showing kindness to his servants and all creatures without any regard for their beliefs,
color or nationality. The Prophet said: “Allah is kind and likes kindness in all things”
(Bukhari, 6601).
He never used any harsh words towards anyone. The worst expression he ever used in
his conversation was: “What has come over him? May his forehead become darkened
with mud”. His heart ached within him at the corrupt state of his fellow-beings. The Holy
Qur’an testifies to it in these words: “0 Muhammad, you will, perhaps, consume yourself
with grief because the people do not believe” (Qur’an 26:3). In Surah Kahf, we read:
“Well, 0 Muhammad, it may be that you will kill yourself for their sake out of sorrow if

1/3
Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) The Kind

they do not believe in this Message.” (Qur’an 18:6). And Surah Fatir says: “So let not
your life be consumed in grief for their sake.” (Qur’an 35:8).
He took a great interest in the welfare of all people and had great compassion for people
in trouble. The Prophet Muhammad imitated the attributes of Allah par excellence and
translated them into practice in the highest form possible for man. Kindness is an
attribute of Allah, which has no limits. It is extensive and encompasses all things and all
beings without discrimination. Likewise was the kindness of the Prophet. He extended it
to all beings, both animate and inanimate and benefited all without measure. The
Qur’anic words for the Prophet’s kindness, ra’ufun rahirn (Qur’an 9:128) are very
intensive and comprehensive in meaning and convey the true nature and extent of the
Prophet’s kindness to people. The Prophet said: “One of the finest acts of kindness is for
a man to treat his fathers’ friends in a kindly way after he has departed” (Abu dawud,
5123)
The issue of treating friends well was also extended to include relations: “He who wishes
to have his provision enlarged and his term of life prolonged should treat his relatives
well” (Bukhari, 5985). He emphasized on this matter because he deeply held the view that
“Only kindness prolongs life, and a person is deprived of provisions for the faults he
commits” (Ibn Majah). Bahz b. Hakim, on his father’s authority, said that his grandfather
told him that he had asked Allah’s Messenger to whom he should show kindness and
that the Prophet had replied: “Your mother.” He asked who came next and he replied:
“Your mother.” He asked who came next and he replied for the third time: “Your mother.”
He again asked who came next and he replied: “Your father, then your relatives in order
of relationship” (Abu dawud, 5120). He dwelled on the issue of treating orphans
humanely as he stated that “The best house among the Muslims is one which contains
an orphan who is well treated, and the worst house among the Muslims is one which
contains an orphan who is badly treated” (Ibn Majah, 3679). This means that the Prophet
cautioned his followers against general maltreatment of anyone regardless of his status.
By extending good treatment from friends to relatives and now to neighbors, Prophet
Muhammad was intent in making all humans interdependent as he emphasized in the
following words: “All creatures are Allah’s dependants, and those dearest to Allah are
the ones who treat His dependants kindly” (Rahman, VOL VIII, p. 154). He emphasized
the kind treatment of women again and again in his speeches:
Treat women kindly, since they are your helpers; . . . you have your rights upon your
wives and they have their rights upon you. Your right is that they shall not allow anyone
you dislike to enter your bed or your home, and their right is that you should treat them
well. (from the Farewell Sermon of the Prophet)
Once a number of women complained to the Prophet’s wives about their ill-treatment by
their husbands. On hearing of this, the Prophet said: “Such persons among you are not
good persons.” (Abu Dawud, 1834). This condemnation by the Prophet himself was an
indication that no one will be accepted before Allah who, while on earth, decided to be
unkind to women. Another person said to the Prophet: “0 Messenger of Allah! My
relatives are such that although I cooperate with them, they cut me off; I am kind to them
but they ill treat me.” The Prophet said this in reply: “So long as you continue as you are,
Allah will always help you and He will protect you against their mischief” (Muslim, 4640).
This was not only a way of bringing comfort to the mind of the worried person but one of
the communicative techniques of the Prophet to assure who ever found himself in that

2/3
Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) The Kind

situation to look up to Allah to be consoled and protected. So it was pointless to preach

vengeance to this kind of people suffering from this similar fate. Indeed, Prophet
Muhammad was nothing short of a competent counselor.
He was always counseling people to be goodhearted regardless of their sex, age or
gender. Once Asma bint Abu Bakr’s mother, who was still an unbeliever, came to see her
in Madinah. She told this to the Prophet and said: “My mother has come to see me and
she is expecting something from me. May I oblige her?” The Prophet said: “Yes, be kind
to your mother” (Muslim, 2195). This attitude of the Prophet was equally extended to
Zainab as-Saqafia, the wife of Abdullah ibn Mas’ud and an Ansari woman. She went to
see the Prophet and to inquire whether it would be a charity if they spent something on
their husbands and on the orphans under their care. The Prophet said: “They will get a
two-fold reward, one for kindness towards their relatives and the other for charity”
(Bukhari, 1466).
There are many Ahadith concerning his kindness to animals, birds and insects: “Allah
prescribed kindness towards everything; so when you slaughter any animal, slaughter it
well; when you sacrifice, make your sacrifice good. And let everyone sharpen his
weapon and make it easy for his sacrificed animal” (Muslim, 5055). He made this kind of
statement to demonstrate his love for both humans and animals. In essence, Prophet
Muhammad was equally showing his followers that he too is feels pain.

Source: Prophet Muhammad Leadership

3/3